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Seven of nine Amish defendants convicted in beard- and hair-cutting attacks on fellow Amish can remain free before they are sentenced early next year, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

Most of the defendants that U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster is allowing to remain in their homes are women with large families. The judge said he was mindful that their immediate detention could leave many young children without parents.

The judge also said it was unlikely that suitable care arrangements have been made since the defendants were found guilty Sept. 20.

“Further, the court does not believe any of these seven defendants will flee, nor is it likely they will commit another offense,” he said. “None of the defendants has any prior record, and each was involved in only one of the religiously motivated attacks.”

But the judge also said in his ruling that all defendants should be prepared to be taken into custody in late January if he imposes a prison sentence.

The judge declined to allow two defendants, Lester Miller and Raymond Miller, to remain free, ordering them to report to U.S. marshals by Friday.

A federal jury in Cleveland convicted 16 Amish defendants of hate crimes in last fall’s attacks, which prosecutors say stemmed from religious disputes among the Amish in eastern Ohio.

Defense attorneys contended that the Amish are bound by different rules guided by their religion, and that the government shouldn’t get involved in what amounted to a private dispute.